By Anna Guido
Enquirer contributor

MADEIRA - At a recent Veterans Day assembly at W.M. Sellman Middle School, half of the Madeira School District's staff of 14 bus drivers were recognized for their military service.

Cheers from Sellman students were profound, and rightfully so, said interim Principal Jack Buchholz. After all, he said, the bonds that bus drivers form with children are "essential" to their safety.

"When you think about it, they're driving one or two classrooms full of children - with their backs to them," Buchholz said.

That helps explain why, said bus supervisor Karen Smith, some drivers are known to sport shirts with the saying, "I have eyes in the back of my head."

Smith speaks highly of all 14 of her employees. But she said the veterans and other retirees are "most dependable. Good bus drivers aren't easy to find."

One, former Marine Thomas Hargis, 67, gets teased about how he likes to "keep things very strict" on his bus.

Another - Gayle Perry, who joined the Air Force right out of high school (and keeps her age under wraps) - gives out candy on Halloween to all her riders.

Nelson Kennedy, 55, a West Point graduate who served in the Army before starting a 27-year career with Procter & Gamble, simply enjoys driving the kids - "particularly the kindergartners, because they're so cute."

Then there's Ernie Howard, 81, who was part of the amphibious force that landed at Normandy in World War II.

"Ernie notices things - like if you get your hair cut," said Cassie Ragland, 11, a sixth-grader at Sellman.

Katie Shinkle, 11, said Ernie "tells jokes and always says 'Good morning' when you get on the bus and 'Good day' when you get off."

To show her appreciation, Smith prepares elaborate meals for her bus drivers on major holidays. The meals are served in Smith's office.

At this year's Thanksgiving lunch, exchanges included talk of war, family, work and recipes.

Driver Dannie Case, 56, a Navy man who served in Vietnam, has simple but sound advice for people looking to join the ranks.

"You've got to like them (the kids). If you don't like them, you can't drive."

A die-hard prep sports fan devoted to his hometown athletes in Moscow, Case now finds himself rooting for Madeira teams "because I haul 'em."

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